Home > Did you know? Clay Buchholz used to throw a knuckleball -- plus, links

Did you know? Clay Buchholz used to throw a knuckleball -- plus, links

Scott Lauber Wednesday, March 21, 2012

FORT MYERS -- Wary of the damage that could be caused to a young arm, Skip Buchholz wouldn't allow his son to throw a curveball until he was in high school.

So, Clay Buchholz developed a knuckleball instead.

"All I threw was a fastball, changeup and a knuckleball, all the way up until I was 16 years old," Buchholz said yesterday. "It was fun to mess around with."

But Buchholz never dreamed of being the next Tim Wakefield.

"It's just such a high-risk pitch," he said. "If it's up in the zone, which it probably would be a lot if I did throw one, it gets hit a long way."

Incidentally, Buchholz (Herald photo by Matt Stone) said he unleashed the knuckler "probably two or three times" over the past few seasons while playing catch with Wakefield before a game. But Wakefield apparently wasn't impressed enough to advise Buchholz to ditch any of his other pitches.

Meanwhile, in today's Herald...

Take it from Red Sox exec Allard Baird: Mike Aviles is at his very best when the doubters are at their loudest.

With John Farrell calling the shots and Jose Bautista bashing homers, don't sleep on the Blue Jays, John Tomase writes.

In the notebook, Daniel Bard remains committed to being a starter. But Bobby Valentine isn't ready to commit to him.